Preseason Thunder Questions and Answers: Has Rusty quit smiling yet?

Steve Letarte to NBC?That's one of the few surprises we've experienced in recent years. When NBC announced that Jeff Burton would become part of its broadcast team in 2015, no one was shocked — we saw that one coming. But Letarte is a current, high-profile crew chief (when you work for Junior Earnhardt, people tend to know you). And he's only 34. But those who know him best think he'll be a natural.

How did Junior take it?Not so well at first. Of all Junior's traits, his honesty is most appealing. He said it “blew me away” that Letarte would even consider breaking up their driver/chief partnership following the 2014 season. But eventually, Junior said, “I could put my own selfishness aside and kind of understand what was important to him and how this was good for him.” Junior may never reach the heights expected of him, but an ability to put selfishness aside makes him a rare racer indeed.

Has Rusty quit smiling yet?Rusty is, by nature, rather hyper and excitable, but even by his standards he was walking around like a 9-year-old on Christmas morning. And frankly, even at 57, he doesn't look much different than he did 20 years ago. No one ever enjoyed wearing that uniform as much as Rusty did, and it showed Friday, when he turned laps in Brad Keselowski's No. 2 car. It's rare to see a driver smiling during testing, so maybe Penske Racing should bring him back every year?

Penske Racing?Oops, make that “Team Penske.” Roger Penske's organization recently announced it's bringing a little consistency to the organization. The team's IndyCar operation has long been known as Team Penske, and given how Roger's open-wheel success has overshadowed his NASCAR efforts, maybe the name change will be worth a few horsepower. OK, maybe not.